The morning of November 3rd, I awoke with a childish giddiness that I only feel in the city limits of New York, New York. After a chaotic “Halloweekend” came Harriton’s infamous “Senior Skip Day”, the inauthentic day off for members of the class of 2026. However for me, the day would be spent in arguably an even more educational environment rather than traipsing around my house in pajamas and slippers. The apple of my eye and long-time dream school, fittingly located in “The Big Apple”, Columbia University awaited my arrival bright and early for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s 85th Annual Fall Conference.
My introduction to the conference came in the form of acclaimed sports writer and investigative journalist Jenny Creech with her lecture entitled, “Investigative Reporting: How to Find and Tell the Whole Story.” Creech is the former deputy managing editor for the NBA and has made instrumental contributions to the Houston Chronicle, The Athletic, and New York Times. As the mid-morning sunlight filtered through the expansive windows of Columbia’s Pulitzer Hall, home to the world’s preeminent graduate journalism school, the mass of writing-oriented students hung onto Creech’s every word. She emphasized key aspects of solid journalism practices including topic relevance and audience focus, and gave the room a number of her personal tips and resources for investigation. Creech spoke with a warm yet matter-of-fact register, assured in her experiences and knowledgeable in her expertise. The lecture used an example: her own Pulitzer-prizewinning investigative piece on the Title-IX scandal at Baylor University. Between Creech’s valuable insight on interviewing, to her trials and tribulations with sources and public backlash, the first session of CSPA’s 85th Annual Fall Conference intensified my fascination with investigative reporting and validated my decision to venture up to Morningside Heights.
Poet and author Erica Miriam Fabri’s melodic voice echoed off the wooden desks in Schemerhorn Hall during my second session as she initiated her talk: “See, Hear, Smell, Taste, Touch: The Five Senses In Writing.” Fabri’s eccentricity and artistic flair were evident when she initiated the session by orating an excerpt of Sandra Cisneros’ text, “The House on Mango Street”, which I had actually read in my sophomore year English class. Her iteration added a new level of depth to Cisneros’ ornate writing when she challenged us to focus on the sensory terms throughout the sample. We then discussed which images remained in the reader’s mind after completing the book and how that longevity is symbolic of excellent descriptive imagery. Concepts like synesthesia along with different types of sensory description such as auditory, olfactory, and tactile, were littered throughout her advice. The lecture was brief but impactful and Fabri concluded it with a writing exercise: to briefly visualize a person or place that holds personal significance to you and describe. Simplistic yet relevant, the room effused the sounds of pencils scratching or fingers typing. I’ll include a snippet of my own paragraph, “nightly, she would trade the cotton garments for spandex, donning skin-tight stockings and an equally fitted leotard, the former a muted ballet pink, and the latter coal black. Only then could you see evidence of the physical anguish that sculpted the subtle ripples throughout her biceps and emotional turmoil that carved her calves.” Needless to say, Fabri’s session ignited a more creative facet of my journalistic skillset.
After a productive lunch break spent catching up on schoolwork in a Pret Mangér on Broadway, self proclaimed “journalism-nerd-turned-corporate-tech-bro” Jacob Palenske took the podium in Lerner Hall, an amphitheater-like lecture space, for his unorthodox presentation which he called, “Journalism students are destined to be poor” and other lies debunked.” From the beginning, Palenske promised only the nitty-gritty, raw opinions he had shaped from years in the journalism and corporate communications workforce. While I felt slightly surprised by some of his takes, the overarching ideas that Palenske posed were well-rounded and indicated a more holistic outlook on the job market. The lecture was less of a traditional monologue and instead encouraged open dialogue, heavy with questions. The conversation would routinely return to the value of storytelling that communication studies creates. Palenske connected this talent to his own insight on working alongside journalists, but in a more technical role at the Federal Reserve. He explained to the group how adaptability and soft skills fosters excellence even if you land in a position outside of traditional journalism. These social aptitudes allow you to collect promotions and build a resume exponentially quicker. Unsurprisingly, Palenske did not sugarcoat the struggles of entry-level journalist positions, stating that if you are close minded and only looking for a super niche position, “then yeah, you will be poor.” This was not meant to extinguish everyone’s hopes—on the contrary, it was meant to highlight his next point which essentially preached multitalentedness as a critical attribute to success in the job market. According to Palenske, this should be achieved through a dual degree or major and minor combination as opposed to graduate school. Personally, I see this as a hot take given that most journalists I’ve interacted with do possess a masters degree. That being said, they are very much traditional reporters, which Palenske is not. As a whole, his session was authentic and projected some positive realities of the field, while we see mostly negative projections in our contemporary social climate.
Remaining in Lerner Hall, I attended “CSPA Trend Overview for News: Print, Hybrid, and Digital Pubs” by Kathleen Zwiebel, a retired advisor and critic of applicants for the CSPA Crown Awards, a prestigious competition and evaluation of student publications. In summary, this penultimate session was rife with inspiration that I am grateful to bring back to my publications at home. Zwiebel shared her critiquing standards and flipped through a series of exemplary newspapers, highlighting the value of infographics and the interplay between photojournalism and graphic design. We observed innovative interactive formats that allow viewers to click on pictures to bring up text, dissected color symbolism, and learned how crucial it is to prioritize readability. By the end I felt empowered and renewed in my passion and leadership roles in the different publications I contribute to. Zwiebel’s expertise and resources absolutely broadened my horizons when it comes to news visuals and formatting.
One of my most personally anticipated sessions was the final timeslot of the day. I inhaled the brisk autumnal perfume emanating through campus as I strolled past Butler and Low Libraries to listen to three speakers during my one and only panel session: John Tagliardi, Shea Vance, the Columbia Daily Spectator’s Editor-In-Chief, and Jonathan Gaston-Falk, the Staff Attorney at the Student Press Law Center. This session was dubbed “Covering Campus Protests: Student Journalists Tell Their Stories” a poignant title for a lecture held at Columbia, given their slew of backlash over the past year. These panelists however, exemplified the ethics that one would hope to see from people involved in political coverage. To get the talk started, Shea Vance gave a brief overview of the political controversy Columbia has faced between October of 2023 and the present. Amidst suspensions and arrests, Vance mentioned her and her colleague’s “Letter from the Editors” in the Spectator which called out negligence towards student journalists and integrity from the university. Her steadfast adherence to reporting the truth was given structural support by Gaston-Falk who outlined the legalities of the whole affair, including aspects like student media rights and guidelines for those covering political protests, especially on college campuses.
Proof of my genuine enjoyment is evident based on the fact that I am recounting my experience in this review as I ride the train back to Philadelphia. As a whole, the process of registration and attendance was painless and the enrichment I received was quite satisfying. I can confidently consider this endeavor to be worth sacrificing a day of relaxation on my senior skip day.
